Is it just me, or is this December especially crazy for calendar meltdown? I have deadlines coming out of my ears, social events all over the place, and sudden urgent meetings that are coming thick and fast out of nowhere and NEED to be NOW. I wonder if it’s because I now live in the Netherlands, where the financial year (and the Quick-Let’s-Use-Up-Our-Budget panic) ends in tandem with the calendar year, instead of safely out of the way in March, as I’m used to.
With so much to do, so many places to be, human cargo with a combined age of 14 to cart about, and way too much stinging rain attacking me sideways, I developed a desperate need, a couple of weeks ago, for a car. I’d managed for over four years without one, but in the space of a week (and with the excellent help of my engine-loving neighbour), I acquired my wee yellow banana, a 13-year old Suzuki.
Then things got even more stressful. Driving on the right. Bashing my hand on the door every time I reach for the gearstick on the left. Driving the wrong way into one-way streets because it was never an issue for the bike. Yikes.
My To Do list started to buzz around my brain like stinging wasps. It was affecting my sleep. I was rushing my work. I’m even rushing this (it was supposed to be a deeply-researched blog on gamification – sorry). I’ve barely even taken the time to tweak it (gasp).
Usually these days I like to go running to clear my head, but my schedule (and the weather) have been making it impossible. So I asked my friends how they clear their heads. These are their ideas, in no particular order:
- Brain dump – this involves writing down every single last thing spilling out of your brain, on paper using pen.
- Phone a friend – basically a verbal brain dump, hoping that your friend will empathise and reflect back what’s actually important to you.
- Eat chocolate – when is this not a solution?
- Drink wine – also suggested by the eat chocolate friend. I sense a pattern.
- Have a bath – always my favourite. I particularly like Radox muscle soak bath salts, which are sadly not available in NL. Please let me know if you know otherwise!
- Hae a dram – ie drink whisky. The Scottish solution.
- Dance to your three favourite songs. I particularly like the method in this madness. The exercise helps, your brain is distracted by figuring out its favourites, and you will laugh. I like to imagine the lawyer friend who suggested this doing it in her office.
- Sleep.
In the end I plumped for the classic wine-bath-sleep formula, with a little bit of Nashville thrown in. It definitely improved things. Next time I’m going to get adventurous and try the brain dump and the dancing. How about you? Do you have any great DIY head-clearing tips you can share?
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About Catriona
I love to tell stories. My career has covered many bases, but communication has always been at the heart of everything I do. From journalism, politics and PR to art and design; from broadcast animation to published picture books and copy editing, it’s all about making people look and listen, and love what they hear.
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